Chapter 26: The Army is Full of One Hundred Thousand (Part 1)

  In the fourth year of the Zhenghe era of the Great Song Dynasty, the fourth year of the Tianqing era of Liao, Yang Yingqi was 14 years old.

  In Liao Jing, the Liao master heard that Ningjiang Prefecture had fallen and began to pay some attention to the Jurchen people. He then summoned all his officials for a meeting to discuss countermeasures. Soon, the opinions of the officials were divided into two factions.

  The Han people's deputy commander, Xiao Tuo, said: "Although the Jurchen are small, their people are brave and good at fighting. Our army has not been trained for a long time, if we encounter strong enemies, slightly unfavorable, the various departments will be disheartened, and the situation will be difficult to recover. For now, it's better to dispatch troops from all over the country, with the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down on their heads, thoroughly crushing the Jurchen's morale!"

  His proposal was very bold and also very frightening. If the Liao State mobilized its entire population, it would have nearly 10 million soldiers, while the Jurchen army had only about 10,000 soldiers. Even if the Jurchens were extremely brave and skilled in battle, they were still vastly outnumbered, and their morale would be completely crushed. Once the Jurchen war effort became unfavorable, Aguoda's influence among the Jurchens would inevitably decline, and this trend would become irreversible.

  However, this plan would consume too much of the Great Liao's strength and had many flaws. The Northern Chancellor, Xiao Dele, was the first to stand up in opposition: "If we follow Tuo's plan, it will only show weakness to the world. In my opinion, just sending out the Sliding Water Army is enough to deal with them."

  After a debate, Xiao Dezlai took the upper hand. Then, with Langling Wang Xiao Feng's brother Xiao Xifeng as the commander of the northeast route, he led the Khitan, Xi, Han, and Bohai armies to advance eastward.

  The Liao army advanced slowly, but the Jurchen reaction was swift. After receiving intelligence, Abaoji mobilized his troops and launched a preemptive attack, while Chuo Yanlun led 350 Han soldiers to join forces with him.

  Zhe Yan Chong, Xiao Tienu and Alu Man led more than thirty old soldiers as the vanguard - this hundred cavalry was the elite of the Han army, with very strong combat effectiveness.

  The two hundred Han troops newly descended were led by Di Yu and Cao Guangyi. These people originally had a good foundation, and after one month of training, they had eliminated their lazy attitude in the Liao army. Since every four people were led by an old Han soldier, Di Yu and Cao Guangyi had strong control over these two hundred people. Moreover, the armor and food provided by the Han department were more complete than those provided by the Khitan people, and leaders such as Zhe Yan Chong also possessed extraordinary leadership qualities, so these two hundred people quickly returned to their senses like the five or six hundred people of the Min Department.

  Wanyan Zongyun and the Jurchen tribes gathered at the banks of the Hun River, with a force of less than 4,000 men. Although the Jurchens had won victories in Ningjiang Prefecture, their confidence was not yet fully established, and their fervor for victory had not been thoroughly ignited. Faced with the Liao dynasty's army of 100,000, many Jurchens secretly harbored worries. However, Aguda's personal charisma offset these unfavorable factors, and everyone firmly believed that under his leadership, the Jurchens would surely rise!

  Zong Xiong is the elder brother of Zhe Yan Chong, and Wanyan Hu Zheng is standing behind with a big belly, but when they meet, they don't talk about private matters.

  Zong Xiong asked Zhe Yan Chong: "The Liao army is said to be 100,000 strong, what do you think?" He was originally a very bold and heroic Han man, but over the past year he had been diligently studying characters and reading books, and had even acquired a bit of a bookish air. Among the Jurchen people, his culture was considered relatively high.

  Zhe Yan rushed to say: "The number of 100,000 is a nonsense! But this is also good, in the future we will win the battle, and then we can claim that our 3,000 people destroyed the enemy's 100,000! The morale must be greatly boosted! Once we win this battle, the Liao people will not be able to do anything about us. We have the advantage of terrain, and we are more than enough to defend ourselves!"

  Zong Xiong Dao said: "How can you be so confident of winning?"

  Zhe Yan Chong said, "This is not confidence, but determination. We have no way to retreat now, this battle must be won. Otherwise, the Jurchen tribes will become disheartened with us, and other ethnic groups will not submit to us either. At that time, we will find it even more difficult to obtain new troops - in short, our back is against a cliff, take one step back and we will never recover!"

  Zong Xiong returned to his tent, and Zhe Yan Chong asked Di Yu: "What does Mr. Di think of this battle?"

  Di Yu said, "As you said, the Jurchen people have retreated to the point of no return. The Liao army in front is like a pack of tigers and wolves, they can only charge forward - let alone the fact that the ones blocking their way might just be a few tens of thousands of starving sick dogs!"

  The army made some adjustments and continued to advance. Before reaching the Duck River, it was already dark, so they set up camp and rested. At night, Muneyoshi suddenly came running with an order, instructing Yoshiakira to hurry and adjust his troops to follow up.

  "Zhe Yan Chong Jing Dao: 'Shen Ye Zhong Wei He You Ru Ci Ming Ling?'"

  Translation:

  "What kind of order is this in the middle of the night?"

  Zong Xiong Dao said, "Uncle tonight just rested his head and involuntarily lifted it up, as if someone was supporting him to keep him awake! Uncle said this is a warning from the gods, so he ordered the troops to advance through the night."

  Zong Xiong finished speaking and quickly left, Di Yu and others looked at Zhe Yan Chong, who said with a deep sigh: "Some talented generals often have an extraordinary sense of danger. These feelings can't be explained, but they really exist! Du Bo is the most outstanding among the fierce warriors, this move must have its reason!"

  Xiao Tienu said: "Right!"

  The Han army was mobilized, lit torches and marched overnight, with Xiao Tiennu and Aluwen rushing to the front. They arrived at the banks of the Duck River only at dawn. The forward scout reported that there were Liao troops destroying the ice road on the riverbank, intending to prevent the Jurchen from crossing the river.

  Zhe Yan burst out laughing coldly: "Destroying the road to resist the enemy, this is still a defensive intention and not an attack! The Khitan people's ambition is insufficient, we will surely win this battle!"

  The Han army shouted "We must win!" The sound echoed across the vast wilderness.

  The Liao soldiers who were destroying the road were shocked when they heard the news. Ahead, Abaoji had already made a move, leading his elite troops to charge at the Liao soldiers who were destroying the road. The Liao soldiers hastily responded to the enemy and immediately dispersed after one clash. Abaoji chased after the retreating Liao soldiers across the Duck River, and it was only then that the opposing Liao army reacted, realizing that the Jurchen people had already landed!

  Zhe Yan Chong had not yet crossed the river when the enemy on the opposite bank began to attack. Amidst the dust, he saw Xiao Tie Nu and A Lu Man leading a group of cavalry charging back and forth. Zhe Yan Chong grasped his wrist and said: "There are few people on the other side! We're afraid we won't make it over in time!"

  Cao Guangyi said: "Our army is strong, but the enemy is numerous and we are few, the situation is likely to be unfavorable!"

  Aguo Da, at this time, did not care about the rear support at all, but instead relied on a fierce momentum, leading thousands of people to charge directly into the Liao army's camp! Suddenly, a strong wind rose, and dust filled the air. Di Yu was overjoyed and said: "Heaven is helping our army!"

  The Jurchen troops were well-trained and had formed their battle lines early, while the Khitan side was hastily assembled. The eastern army did not recognize the western army, and the Han soldiers did not obey the Khitans. In the dust and wind, they could not see the flag signals for command, so everyone fought on their own, and soon the whole battlefield was in chaos.

  Aguda shouted and charged forward, his sons Zongwang, Wuzhuo, and nephew Zongxiong rushed to guard him on both sides. The soldiers of the Wanyan tribe were either relatives or close friends, and in the dust they could recognize friend from foe by their silhouettes alone. Meanwhile, the Liao army was thrown into chaos and began to slaughter each other.